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Basic concept

A typical sound reinforcement system consists of;inputtransducers(e.g.,
microphones), which convert sound energy into an electric signal,signal
processorswhich alter the
signal characteristics,amplifiers,which
add power to the signal without otherwise changing its content, andoutput
transducers(e.g.,
loudspeakers), which convert the signal back into sound energy. These
primary parts involve varying amounts of individual componentsto
achieve the desired goal of reinforcing and clarifying the sound to the
audience, performers, or other individuals.

Signal path

Sound reinforcement in a large format system typically involves a signal
path that starts with an instrumentpickupor
amicrophone(transducer)
which is plugged into amulticore
cable(often called a "snake").
The snake then routes the signals of all of the inputs on twomixing
consoles: Front of the House (FOH) Main mix, and Monitor mix at the side
of the stage. Once the signal is at a channel on the console, this signal
can beequalized,compressed,
orpannedbefore
being routed to anoutput bus.
The signal may also be routed into an external effects processor, which
outputs awet(effected)
version of the signal, which is typically mixed in varying amounts with
thedry(ineffected)
signal.

The signal is then routed to a bus, also known as a mix group, subgroup or
simply 'group'. A group of signals may be routed through an additional bus
before being sent to the main bus to allow the engineer to control the
levels of several related signals at once. For example, all of the
different microphones for a drum set might be sent to their own bus so
that the volume of the entire drum set sound can be controlled with a
single fader or a pair of faders.A
bus can often be processed just like an individual input channel, allowing
the engineer to process a whole group of signals at once. The signal is
then typically routed with everything else to the stereo masters on a
console. Mixing consoles also have additional sends, also referred to asauxes,
on each input channel so that a different mix can be created and sent
elsewhere.

The next step in the signal path generally depends on the size of the
system in place. In smaller systems, the main outputs are often sent to an
additionalequalizer, or
directly to apower amplifier,
with one or more loudspeakers (typically two) then connected to that
amplifier. In large-format systems, the signal is typically first routed
through an equalizer then to acrossover.
A crossover splits the signal into multiple frequency bands with each band
being sent to separate amplifiers and speaker enclosures for low, middle,
and high-frequency signals. Low-frequency sounds are sent tosubwoofers,
and middle and high-frequency sounds are typically sent to full-rangespeakercabinets.